Simviation Forums

What was the ultimate fighter of WWII. It's all up to opinion and I want to know yours. I've picked the best from each major nation involved in the war. I'm no expert on Russian or Japanese aircraft so excuse me if my picks aren't actually the best the nation had.

I'll kick this off with a predictable vote.

I think we all know which way I voted

To your list I would add the F6F Hellcat (US) and A6M Zero-sen (Japan).  Both valid candidates, with pros and cons.

F8F Bearcat!

F8F Bearcat!

Gloster Gladiator!

Russian fighter aircraft which did operate in WW2:
Yak series (Yak-1 and Yak-3 in the first part, Yak-9 in the final months and Korea)
MiG Series (MiG-1 to MiG-3)
Lavochkin (LaGG-3, La-5, La-7)

Ground-support fighters (best known)
Il-2 and Il-10

And some stray Sukhoi aircraft...

The "Jug"!

Tempest!

Gloster Gladiator!

No doubt we had a few Bristol Bulldogs in reserve...

[quote]To your list I would add the F6F Hellcat (US) and A6M Zero-sen (Japan).

My personal thinking of "ultimate" is a combination of performance and contribution.  In that sense, I chose the P51, which was an excellent fighter in its own right, plus it served in significant numbers in both major theatres of the war.  That, for me, gave it the nudge as the "ultimate" over the Corsair.

Tempest!


No doubt we had a few Bristol Bulldogs in reserve...

Actually some Gloster Gauntlets were used operationally early on in the Middle East (Iraq/Syria) and East Africa.

Hard choice between the Spit and the 'Stang.. but I'm American, so that tipped the scale for me  The Yak-9 is tempting too, gotta love any airplane with a 45mm gun in the nose.

Corsair. If it was good enough for the 'Jarheads' to use in three wars without changing it much. Its good enough for me. I kniw , I know. The 'Stang made 2 wars but the Corsairs just got more  "personality" more "grit".

I'm going to change my vote...

P-38 Lightning.

Day/Night, Bad Weather, Fighter, Recce, Tactical bomber, VIP Transport, Strategic Bomber, Personel Transport...name a task and the Lightning probably did it.

Lockheed even proposed the Model 822 for carrier ops!

Gotta love the Lightning.